


Drunk (And) In Love

by Stylish_Racoon



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drunken Confessions, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:32:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stylish_Racoon/pseuds/Stylish_Racoon
Summary: It was one in the morning when his phone vibrated.Taiga stopped typing away on his laptop's keyboard and squinted at the screen. He only saw a series of jumbled words and with a frown, he reached for his phone to have a better look. The back of his eyes ached at the sudden brightness, and he blinked, setting it low enough for his vision to adjust on the letters once again. Then, he quirked an eyebrow.I lve oyu, the message read.





	Drunk (And) In Love

**Author's Note:**

> I found this gem sitting in my drafts since 2017 and I figured, since the aoka fandom is less populated now, it'd be a nice time to share it. It was necessary to rewrite it because my two years ago writing style is Ew, but it was fun anyway. I hope you can enjoy!

It was one in the morning when his phone vibrated.

Taiga stopped typing away on his laptop's keyboard and squinted at the screen. He only saw a series of jumbled words and with a frown, he reached for his phone to have a better look. The back of his eyes ached at the sudden brightness, and he blinked, setting it low enough for his vision to adjust on the letters once again. Then, he quirked an eyebrow. 

_I lve oyu_ , the message read.

He glanced at the sender's name and when  **Aho**  glared back at him, he snorted, tapping on the screen to text his reply.  _This is a whole other level of messed up texting. I need a decoder._

He put his phone down and turned his attention back on his computer screen. Half of it brimmed with the soft colors of Instagram, the other half with the message his manager instructed him to use as a caption for the daily picture he was supposed to upload. As a basketball star, the man always said, you have to make sure to feed your audience every day. Taiga had never understood the concept of social media, but as long as it didn't seem to hurt his basketball career, he didn't mind making this daily sacrifice.

Ten minutes later, when Taiga was shutting the lid of his laptop closed, his phone lit up again. With a sigh, he picked it up again and unlocked the screen.

_**Aho** : U talk shit t me why_

Taiga stared pointedly at the text. Then, he rolled his eyes.  _Aomine what the hell is this_ ,  _type normally._

The response arrived in less than five seconds.  _U dont like me_

_Yeah, you're pretty annoying._

_**Aho** : Why_

_Why are you annoying?_

_**Aho** : No why u no like me am I no pretty_

Taiga frowned deeply. This wasn't normal. He and Aomine, although not every day, they texted each other rather often for Taiga to say he could recognize Aomine's texting style. Aomine normally gave short, curt and to the point responses, unless they were talking bout basketball or Mai-chan. He wasn't the most eloquent texter, nor the fastest one, as he was always lazy, yet his texts right then had something almost delirious about them. Taiga's stomach shifted in his belly, his worry as deep as the feelings he harbored for the other man, while he responded,  _What the hell Aomine, are you alright?_

Minutes ticked by painfully slow. Taiga's fingers hovered nervously above the screen without touching it, stopping only when the three dots fluttered on the screen. The message that chimed in had Taiga's mouth parting slightly.

_Taiga_

There was only a second of hesitation before Taiga wrote,  _Aomine, are_ _you drunk?_

The three dots jumped up again, then faded, the jumped again, only to fade and stay gone. Taiga counted the seconds until their comeback, but they never reappeared, making the knot in his stomach ten times heavier. On a whim, he tossed his phone on his bed and stormed to his living room to shut off the lights and lock the door. Then, he headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. Aomine was acting strange and it gave off bad-news vibes, and Taiga trusted his gut no matter what.

On his way back, he heard his phone buzz again and he rushed to pick it up, despite himself. Yet, the sight that waited for him was beyond Taiga's wildest imagination.

_I love u_

_Urbeyebrows an yr nose_

_U play basketball well_

_Ur pretty_

_I lve u_

_Love_

_U_

Taiga let the words sink in, but the longer he looked at them, the harder it was for him to believe he was actually awake. He had dealt with drunk people and their absent inhibitions. Words they didn't mean were often coming out of their mouths, words they regretted the next morning when the apprehensions were back, and though he had been drunk with Aomine before, such a spectacle had never occurred. Love... That wasn't a word he had expected to come out of a man like Aomine, even in an inebriated state. Just how much had he had to drink?

Ignoring the sting in his chest and the heat on his face, Taiga took a deep breath and tapped harsher than necessary on the call icon, then adjusted the device on his ear. It rang and rang and rang to no avail, but Kagami wasn't giving up just yet.

When the line finally connected, Taiga was met with silence. He frowned, "Aomine?"

A long, drawled out hum was all he got as an answer. Alarms went off in Taiga's head. He knew that Aomine dragged his voice when he spoke about everything else that wasn't basketball, but this wasn't lazy; it was drunken slur. "What's wrong, dude?" he then asked.

There was another hum, some shuffling, then Aomine's voice echoed for the first time, "Are you angry?"

Taiga set his jaw. "I'm worried 'bout'chu, stupid, not angry," he said, softening his voice, "You're a grown ass man, you can drink if you want to."

"Worried," Aomine echoed. Then, a few moments of more silence later, he sighed, "Can you come get me? I wanna see you."

Long before Aomine even phrased out the request, Taiga was already slipping into a pair of shoes and unlocking his door. "Are you with someone right now?"

Aomine clicked his tongue. "I was wit' Kise...but I lost'im." There was some more shuffling. "The heck is he? Prick must'a left."

"Do you know where you are?"

There was a pause, heavy breathing on the other end before Aomine snorted. "Out."

"That doesn't help me, stupid," Taiga quipped. He climbed down three stairs per step. Taking the elevator would have compromised the signal and that was the last thing Taiga wanted. "Try to tell me where are you."

A hiccup. "Out. Street. Sitting on the pavement."

Taiga's voice rose a few decibels. "Where, Aomine? I want the location!"

"Kise's favorite bar, sheesh!"

Aomine needn't say any more. Taiga had known Kise long enough to be dragged to that bar more than enough times for him to know where it was.

"Don't move until I'm there."

He barged out of the apartment complex building and made a beeline for his car parked directly outside. He unlocked the doors and hastily stepped inside, putting the call on speaker and placing the phone on his thigh. The engine then came alive with a purr and Taiga pulled out of his driving spot with ease. It was merely a five minute drive to where Aomine was. Yet, if he had to carry Aomine all the way back to his house, he would definitely need a car. All the muscles Aomine had built up throughout years of basketball practice, weren't exactly light.

The line had gone completely silent, and if it wasn't for Aomine's breathing, Taiga would have thought it had died. "Oi, Aomine," he said as he took a left, "You still there?"

He heard a sniff. Then Aomine muttered, "Are you going to keep ignoring my confession?"

Taiga clenched his teeth, and unclenched them. A big part of him wished Aomine's words were true, because the nights he stayed awake, thinking of Aomine's thin lips, his crooked smile and fierce ocean-blue eyes, were far too many for Taiga to count anymore. But an even bigger part of him didn't allow hope to blossom. "It's just the alcohol talking," he said and hated the way it came out of his mouth. "You don't really mean it."

Aomine snorted again. "The alcohol only makes it easy to speak of it," he replied. Then a distressed sound made it to Taiga's ears. "It hurts, y'know? My chest. When I think that you don't love me back — it hurts so much, and I wanna hate you, I really do, but I can't, because... I don't fucking know, I just can't."

Taiga stopped at a red light. He opened his mouth to speak, yet no word could make it past his trembling lips.

Aomine burped another hiccup. "I'm not pretty like a girl, but I'm good-lookin'," he drawled again, "So why? Is Kise more your type? Do I have to dye my hair and become an idiot?"

"You're already an idiot, and don't dye your hair. Kise is my friend," Taiga rushed to said. But then it was hard. It was hard to speak the next few words. "You're my friend too."

A loud groan buzzed through the speakers. It sounded more annoyed than distressed. "I don't wanna be yer friend, Taiga," Aomine mumbled, "I wanna be yer boyfriend. I wanna take you-take you out on dates and..." A tired sigh. "...and buy you - hic - stuff and...kiss you, man I wanna kiss you so bad."

Taiga blushed red, all the way to the roots of his hair. He put the car in park and covered his face with both hands. In the distance, the logo of Kise's favorite bar blared an obnoxious yellow. "Are you in front of the bar?" he asked in a heavy exhale.

"Hmm? Uh, yeah."

The street lights illuminated the empty neighborhood and despite the darkness of the night, Taiga could make out a lone figure sitting under one of them. With one phone in hand, Taiga pushed his car's door open and stepped outside. The early autumn chill made him shiver. In his hurry, he had forgotten to put on a coat, but he tried to shake it off by walking faster towards the lanky-looking figure.

Spiky blue hair came into view, a loose tee shirt, sweatpants and the basketball shoes Taiga had gifted to him on his birthday earlier that month, the only garments protecting him from the cold. Aomine leaned on the street light, knees bent and head dropped between them. He clutched the phone tightly against his ear. Taiga's heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He ended the call.

Stopping in front of Aomine's hunched figure, he sighed. "You're a mess."

Lazy blue eyes blinked up and few seconds later a goofy smile formed on Aomine's face. "Shit, you really came."

Taiga tried not to fidget. He couldn't look him in the eye. "I did because you either get hit by a car or you die from alcohol poisoning," he quipped.

Blue eyes crinkled at the edges. Aomine's smile turned teasing. "You care."

He did. He cared more than Aomine could ever imagine. But it wasn't the time and place to let Aomine know. Instead, Taiga shook his head and scoffed. "Get you ass up. I'm taking you home."

"But you just came! Lemme buy you a drink."

"No more drinks for you tonight." Taiga grabbed Aomine's bicep and started to pull. "Get up, we are leaving."

Groaning, Aomine resisted moving until Taiga bent over and almost literally scooped him up to his feet. "You're no fun at all," Aomine then said. Then, with a soft smile, he added, "If you want, we can go somewhere else. Anywhere you want is fine with me. Wanna go to the moon? I'll take you there."

Taiga's heart pounded in his chest, threatening to break through its confines or climb all the way up hips throat and jump out of his mouth. Instinctively he swallowed. He tugged Aomine's arm and looped it around his shoulders, supporting whatever was left of the man's balance against his own body. "I just want to get you home and wait for this whole delirium to go away," he said, voice tight.

Aomine sighed. "Do you hate that I love you that much?" he then said, sounding like the most broken he had ever been.

"It's not that," Taiga said through clenched teeth. He took a step towards his car, dragging Aomine's weight with him. "You're not really yourself right now. Tomorrow you might regret saying all these things."

But Aomine didn't reply. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he closed it shut seconds later.

They staggered towards Taiga's car in silence, then wrestled to get Aomine in the actual car, until Aomine was on the passenger's seat with the seat belt on. Taiga pulled out of the parking spot and they drove to his house. Aomine had dozed off before Taiga even turned the engine on, but the silence was therapeutic — it gave Taiga the chance to put his thoughts in order. He wasn't much of a deep thinker, and the more he thought about things, the more confused he got, yet the look in Aomine's eyes, the cracks in his voice when he asked Taiga if he hated being loved by him — they all left a bitter taste in his mouth and an empty feeling in his stomach.

Every cell of his body wanted Aomine's words to be true. But Taiga wouldn't let his hopes up.

As he parked in front of his apartment complex, he decided; thinking wouldn't help. He and Aomine had to talk. But only when the alcohol was out of his system completely.

Taking a deep, final breath, he nudged Aomine's shoulder. "Oi, stupid," he called, but his voice was soft, "Wake up, we're here."

Aomine stirred and blue eyes blinked awake. Then, he frowned. "This isn't my house."

"I'm nice enough to let you stay at mine," Taiga explained, "I hate to say it, but you'll probably die if I leave you alone and it'll be a waste of basketball talent. Can't have that on my conscience for the rest of my life."

Aomine snorted and reached over to pinch Taiga's cheek. "You care, douchebag," he cooed, "You care for me and you just don't want to admit it."

A smile tugged at the corners of Taiga's mouth. "Can you get out of the car? Stupid."

"I can try, asshole."

He reached for the door and stumbled outside. Taiga followed him suit and locked the car when Aomine figured a way how to close the door, and barely made it in time to catch Aomine who kept tripping on every other step.

"Jesus," Taiga sighed, hands clasping on strong shoulders, "You're pretty damn hopeless."

Hazy blue eyes looked up at him and stole his breath, but before Taiga was even given the chance to process what was happening, a pair of arms wrapped around his middle and he was yanked flush against a solid chest. Aomine buried his face in Taiga's neck and breathed, "You smul good."

Taiga willed the shivers to stop and the goosebumps to disappear. Clutching the sides of Aomine's shirt, he tried to shove him away, but it was futile. "Listen you—"

"Just for a moment. Let me hug you for a moment."

His heart clenched, his defenses weakened. The pushing stopped, but Taiga's body was on fire, his instincts urging him to move away before it was too late. "We are outside," he argued lamely. There was not a single soul in the viscinity.

Aomine made a distressed noise. "Just for a moment."

It lasted longer than just a moment, and each one that passed them by, made Taiga weaker and weaker. Aomine was taller than him, yet his fit in his embrace as if Taiga was specifically made to accomodate his frame, and he was warm, warm enough for Taiga to forget all about the chill of the night. His hair tickled the underside of his chin, but it was soft, soft enough to make Taiga wonder if Aomine used conditioner, yet every possible thought vacated his mind the moment Aomine's fingers trailed meaningless patterns on the small of his back. It was daring of him, it was crossing the line dangerously, and Taiga's mind screamed at him to let go immediately, but he didn't. He pushed his nose in the fabric of Aomine's tee and drew in a deep breath.

_God, I love him._

His heart filled to the brim, his lungs ready to explode. Then, Taiga tapped Aomine's back. "Hey," he murmured, "Let's go upstairs."

Aomine pulled back and nodded, shifting slightly to accomodate Taiga as he held him tight around the waist and walked with him all the way up to his apartment. Taiga fished his keys out of his pocket and they teetered inside, almost falling over together while taking their shoes off. For the first time, Taiga laughed and tugged at Aomine's shoes. "You're such a dumbass."

Aomine glared at him. "Shut up and help me up. I'm so fucking dizzy."

"You know, I might as well not because this is funny."

"Taiga!"

Still laughing, Taiga hefted him on his two legs again. Aomine wobbled, his body swaying and Taiga had to catch him one more time, to press him against his body to stabilize him so that he didn't end up on the floor or worse — with a bruise. "C'mon, let's get you on the bed."

"Sex?" Aomine gasped. 

"Sleep, idiot."

"You are no fun."

Staggering and bickering in low voices, they made it to Taiga's bedroom. Taiga maneuvered Aomine's dead weight until they were both sitting, side-by-side on his bed, with a tenderness that didn't normally characterize him, but Aomine was complaining of a dizziness and he was afraid of a throw up episode if he jostled the man a lot. He grasped the hem of Aomine's tee and tugged it over his head, folding it neatly before placing it on the bedside table.

Aomine stared at him with big blue eyes full of questions and emotions, like a small child; like a puppy. Taiga felt himself smile. "Want some water?"

"I wanna kiss you," Aomine said bluntly.

Taiga's smile fell. He let go of a long breath, pushing a hand through his hair. "Not that again."

"Taiga, please."

"Can you please sleep and wake up normal tomorrow?"

"I  _am_  normal, Bakagami," Aomine muttered. When Taiga did not react, he tugged at the comforter and slipped inside, adjusting it around his legs so that he was halfway covered with it. Then, he turned his gaze on Taiga again and said, "Do you really not love me at all?"

He sounded vulnerable, and Taiga was not used to Aomine being vulnerable like that. It did strange things to his poor heart, and it was too late, he was tired and he hurt too much to deal with it any longer. "Tell you what," he said in the end, "Try kissing me again when you wake up. If you still mean everything you're telling me right now, come and kiss me."

Aomine's eyes lit up. "Promise you won't deck me in the face?"

"I promise."

"I'll do that then," Aomine nodded, "I'll do it." He then flopped on Taiga's pillow and closed his eyes. "Good night."

Aomine drifted off before Taiga managed to say it back.

Shutting the light off, Taiga left his room, half-closing the door behind him. In a daze, he made a beeline for the kitchen and mechanically open the cupboard, picking up and glass and pouring himself water from the tap. His head was full and the cool water sliding down his throat did little to help put all these jumbled thoughts into some sort of order. He had so many questions, but so few answers.

A thought he did not dare to entertain until then popped up in his mind; did Aomine really love him?

Taiga put the glass down and scowled at the counter. Aomine was his best friend before he was anything else and Taiga liked to think he knew him better than others — maybe not better than Kuroko, but still, he knew the man pretty well. Aomine had never shown any signs of being into guys, let alone into Taiga.

Scratching the back of his neck, Taiga put a stop to his thoughts and exited the kitchen. He switched off the lights in the kitchen, locked the apartment door once again, and dropped his weight on the single sofa in his living room. A tap at the screen of his phone told him it was far too late on the night to be thinking of complicated things.

Taiga put his phone on the table in front of the sofa, laid down and slipped into a restless sleep.

 

~ * ~

 

He woke up a few minutes before noon. His head felt like splitting into two, his neck sore from the awkward position he had been sleeping in.

The sun streamed through the thin blinds in his living room, taking sleep away from him, even though he turned his back to them. He tried to fall asleep, but to no avail, so Taiga sat up on the couch, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and headed to his kitchen. He prepared a quick breakfast and sat down to wolf it down. His eyes darted to the half-closed door of his bedroom and the events from the night before rang at the back of his head, their presence a low hum instead of the high-pitched screaming they had been a few hours ago.

Was Aomine awake, he wondered.

His question did not stay unanswered for long. While Taiga cleaned out the pans and dishes he used for his breakfast, he heard thudding from his bedroom, then seconds later, Aomine stumbled into the kitchen. His face was puffed up and pale, but his eyes when their gazes met, were as piercing as ever. Taiga swallowed the knot in his throat, his nerves from last night returning full force.

"You look like shit," he croaked out.

Aomine's footsteps slammed on the floor once again, stopping as soon as he was next to Taiga by the counter. He grabbed a clean glass and jostled Taiga out of the way to pour himself some water. He downed it down in a second. "Fuck," he muttered, slamming the glass on the surface of the counter, "Fuck, my head is going to explode."

"Your fault for being an idiot."

Aomine grunted and his fingers slipped in his hair, ruffling it up against gravity. "What the fuck happened last night even," he murmured.

He doesn't remember, Taiga realized and willed his heart not to shatter in a million tiny pieces. "Apparently you went out with Kise and drank yourself to oblivion," he said instead, and his voice didn't waver, "Text him later that you're okay."

"I'm fucking dying and it's his fault."

"You're the one who drank. Don't go blaming others."

"Shut up," Aomine muttered, rubbing his face with both hands. "Just shut the fuck up."

Normally, Taiga's temper would have flared — it would have exploded like a volcano, like a dying star, and it would have brought a disaster in his kitchen, because Aomine's temper would have risen too and he would have striken back, like a feral cat. Yet, Taiga that moment bit his tongue; he bit it hard until he thought he tasted blood without bleeding. With a towel, he dried the last dish and put it away, then took the glass from Aomine's grasp and rinsed it off. At any cost, he was avoiding looking Aomine in the eye.

That, was until a hand cupped his cheek and forced him to look up. Aomine's eyes were there, holding him captive, narrowed and full of questions and before Taiga opened his mouth to speak, Aomine silenced him with his lips. It was short, it was chaste, just a mere peck and it was nothing like what Taiga had imagined it would be, but at the same time a million times better.

Aomine was the first one to pull away. "Well?" he asked with a frown.

Taiga found it difficult to speak with his heart thrashing in his throat. "W-Well what?" he stammered.

"You told me to kiss you if I meant what I said last night, right?" Aomine said, "Now it's your turn. Do you love me too?" His thumb coursed above Taiga's reddening cheek and a smile as cheeky and insufferable as Aomine himself, spread on his face. "You do, don't you."

Taiga set his jaw and scowled. Every butterfly taking flight in his stomach, turned into dust and disappeared. "I liked you better all drunk and cute yesterday," he said. "Now you're just your usual prick self."

A hand landed on his other cheek, and humor drained from Aomine's face. He inched closer, close enough to derail every sample of a train thought Taiga had mustered. "Kagami," he breathed, and it was hoarse, brimming with unspoken emotions. "Answer me."

Taiga looked down. "You're stupid," he said quietly, "You're stupid and a jerk-off and the huggest asshole I've ever known, but yes, I fucking love you." Then he scoffed, "Guess that makes me an idiot too."

Aomine's hands slipped from his face, trailed down his neck until they landed on the front of his chest. There, they clutched the fabric as Aomine dropped his head and heaved a long, shuddering breath. "Fuuuuuuuuck," he groaned. "You love me for real? I can't believe you just said that."

The tips of his ears had gotten as red as Taiga's hair, and as a knee-jerk response, Taiga's face flushed all scarlet too. "Weren't you confident just now?!"

"It was an act! I felt like I was going to die!" Aomine pressed his head against Taiga's chest and moaned once again. "Had you said no, I would have died. I mean, I would still be your friend because you  _are_ my idiot best friend, but pining fucking sucks. And to think I actually had a chance — fuck!"

Taiga stared at the blue head in silence and then he didn't stop it — it bubbled up all the way from his stomach, rattling his chest and throat, a laugh full of frustrations and insecurities that were finally seeping out of his body, because Aomine was not drunk anymore. Because Aomine was sober and he loved him back.

"You're such an idiot," he said, but it was full of love.

Aomine lifted his head from his hiding spot, and he was blushing, profusely, and his eyes were wetter than normal. "Well," he grumbled, "You're dating me now, so I can't be that bad."

Before Taiga managed to utter a word, Aomine leaned in and kissed him again.

It really wasn't that bad.

**Author's Note:**

> I am half asleep, so ignore any typo or mistake you see! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
